France was still pinching itself yesterday. Although the possibility of Aime Jacquet's team reaching the 1998 World Cup final had always been there, few had been prepared to grant this hypothesis the added status of probability until the referee ended the proceedings in St-Denis on Wednesday night and Croatia had been beaten 2-1.

Then, and only then, did the French bench erupt in mutual congratulation, though the joy all around them was accompanied by a certain amount of incredulity. Even now France's first appearance in a final will be accompanied by some scepticism. Will the hosts return to Stade de France on Sunday merely to be shown the door by their most distinguished guests? Dramatic though France's semi-final victory was, their performance had little in it to cause Brazil serious concern.

Although the holders will have noted the aplomb with which Lilian Thuram scored his first two goals in international football to win the match for Les Bleus, after Davor Suker had given Croatia a short-lived lead, they will be thinking more about the effect on French confidence of losing Laurent Blanc for the final to a gratuitous red card.

The Spanish referee Jose Garcia Aranda largely controlled the match with common sense and sympathy. But with some 15 minutes remaining he sent off Blanc for doing no more than chuck Slaven Bilic under the chin after the pair had become entangled in the Croatia penalty area while awaiting a France free-kick.

True, Bilic did go down as if he had suffered an uppercut from Mike Tyson but in modern football this is par for the course and Aranda should not have been fooled. Then again, maybe he was merely complying with the demands of Sepp Blatter, the new president of FIFA, that anything remotely resembling violent conduct should receive the full weight of the law.

But there is always Frank Leboeuf, who on Wednesday immediately filled in as sweeper once Blanc had departed and who will presumably play alongside Marcel Desailly again on Sunday. Desailly having joined the foreign legion at Stamford Bridge for £4.6 million from Milan on the eve of France 98, this would give Chelsea the rare distinction of providing both centre-backs in a World Cup final against Brazil, the likelihood of which would never have occurred to David Webb and Micky Droy.

Leboeuf will probably feel more at ease confronting Ronaldo and Rivaldo at this level than he is apt to be when faced in the Premiership with the likes of Duncan Ferguson, John Hartson or almost anyone from Wimbledon. Brazil are not in the habit of aiming long crosses at tall targets, and heading has never been Ronaldo's strongest point.

Leboeuf's instincts as a libero, his astute reading of situations and the timing of his interceptions should make him an acceptable alternative to Blanc. Where France will suffer is through the breaking up of the defensive unit which has formed the bedrock of their success in this World Cup. It is a bit like England losing any one of their back four for the 1966 final.

Blanc's absence will make even heavier demands of Desailly. Thuram, too, will probably need to display his exceptional defensive qualities before he can think of continuing in his new role as a match-winner.

That he has done it once is remarkable enough. World Cups have a habit of throwing up unlikely heroes; Geoff Hurst was one but think of George Cohen scoring twice against Portugal in the 1966 semi-finals and that gives an idea of the impact Thuram's goals made. Gary Neville should have been taking notes.

Croatia's disappointment at missing the final will be softened by their achievement in reaching the last four of their first World Cup. Against both Germany, whom they beat in the quarterfinals, and France their initial approach was defensive.

But when Suker scored immediately after half-time, St-Denis seemed about to witness a repeat of Lyon four days earlier. Thuram put paid to that, however, and now France are anxious to avoid the fate of Sweden 40 years ago when they reached a World Cup final as hosts only to be beaten 5-2 by the Brazil of Didi, Vava, Garrincha, a teenage Pele and Mario Zagallo, who enjoyed it so much that he has kept coming back for more.